H is for Hutt

Disgusting, slimy, filthy, criminals.

The Hutts derive from a large, slug-like species and are well-known throughout both the outer rim and the core worlds as an expansive clan of immoral gangsters. Everything about them is vile and gross, both in body and in spirit, both in word and in deed. Hutts are a perfect “frenemy” for your Star Wars crew, offering lucrative contracts through their underworld connections, while offending all around them with their very presence, making conflicting side deals behind the crew’s backs, and tugging on both Obligations and Motivations in the most repulsive ways possible.

To begin your design of a Hutt that is totally gross, we start with a name. The Donjon cannot be recommended enough in this regard. It is a magnificent source of names for all manner of Star Wars lore.

Once that is established, begin thinking about the Legitimate Business Front that this particular Hutt employs to keep the Imperial tax collector off of his back, or slug-like equivalent of a back. Either choose your own boring business venture or roll d10 and consult the table below to determine a random, false facade. Now that your Hutt has a way to explain his income, at least on paper, get down to the real source of his or her money: an Illegal Trade. Either choose an exciting and very profitable business venture or roll d10 and consult the table below to determine a random, true source of tainted money that will surely land the Hutt’s business partners into trouble with the law.

d10		LEGITIMATE BUSINESS FRONT		ILLEGAL TRADE
1		agricultural machinery		narcotics
2		medicine		slaves
3		droids		explosives
4		starships		endangered animals
5		foodstuffs		counterfeit credits
6		fine art		stolen weapons
7		blaster rifles		stolen vehicles
8		construction		stolen organs
9		restaurateur		military secrets
0		dry cleaning		jedi artifacts

Over time, all Hutts take on a Moniker, an appendix to their name. Often, these monikers are created by the Hutt’s enemies to condemn the crime bosses for their dark ways. This only serves to work in the Hutts’ favor as it inspires fear in their adversaries and increases their  devious reputation. Either choose a fitting title to append the Hutt’s name or roll d10 and consult the table below to determine a random descriptor. If determining the Moniker randomly, let your imagination open up and develop some interesting backstory and notes as to what previous activities might have earned this Hutt such a reputation.

Lastly, know that all Hutts are terrible, terrible people deep down to the core. Your last step in crafting such a creature is to establish what Crippling Vice or Addiction afflicts the Hutt and makes him or her a slave to their own awful, despicable desires. Pay special attention and choose a vice or addiction that, for the actual people in your gaming group, is the most controversial and unpleasant to discuss. We’re roleplaying here, and now is the time for them to confront their anxieties. If you are planning for a group of unknown players, roll d10 and consult the table below to determine a random expression of unfathomable depravity.

d10		MONIKER		CRIPPLING VICE OR ADDICTION
1		the Outlaw		alcohol; see B is for Booze
2		the Betrayer		gambling
3		the Slimy		overeating
4		the Foul		humanoid slaves
5		the Gluttonous		hoarding
6		the Despicable		kleptomania
7		the Vile		narcotics
8		the Worm		sadism & torture
9		the Violator		extravagance
0		the Hutt		exotic pets, such as the Kowakian monkey-lizard

A very special thanks to Steven “Kelko Clezo” Samorodin for collaborating to create this entry, a long-time friend of both the blog and its founder.